With the support and follow-up of His Royal Highness, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, Sports Minister and Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, His Royal Highness Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, President of the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronics and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS), announced that SAFEIS is organizing the (Rise to the Challenge) tournament in partnership with the tournament’s digital enabler, stc Group. The tournament will include 3 world-famous games; FIFA, PUBG and Fortnite, with financial prizes up to half a million Saudi Riyal for all age groups.
His Highness said that launching the tournament at this time aims to make use of the adherence to the lockdown period by citizens and residents, considering how popular these sports are in the Kingdom. At the same time, it is an initiative launched by the Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronics and Intellectual Sports and stc Group following many initiatives launched by several government and private entities during our response to the novel coronavirus, considering that staying home is key to combating the spread of this virus. Therefore, we anticipate success for this tournament in achieving its goals and benefits for the youth, especially those 21% who, prior to the current crisis, played electronic games on a weekly basis, as we naturally expect this number to rise in light of the government’s instructions to remain home for unusually long periods of time, encouraging them to share their hobby to play electronic games in a competitive and organized environment in line with the aspirations of the Kingdom’s leadership.
Mr. Othman bin Dahash AlDahash, VP of Corporate Development at stc, said that stc Group’s participation as a digital enabler for the (Rise to the Challenge) tournament is out of the Group’s belief in the importance of such sports and their popularity among passionate youth, and aims to support the directives of H.E, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, to employ fiber services at homes which can easily provide the speeds needed for such electronic games thanks to stc Group’s great infrastructure, especially in relation to fiber and 5G services. This collaboration is a continuation of stc network’s success in accommodating the huge growth currently witnessed by the Kingdom, especially in terms of supporting distance learning and telecommuting and healthcare applications in which the network achieved remarkable success.
AlDahash said that it is important to rise to everyone’s expectations during our adherence to the curfew by enjoying a different and beneficial source of entertainment in our homes. Demand for gaming platforms witnessed over 256% growth during this period.